


Making Plans

by DualWieldingCousland (DualWieldingMama)



Series: Starting Over [3]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-30
Updated: 2015-08-30
Packaged: 2018-04-18 00:33:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4685483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DualWieldingMama/pseuds/DualWieldingCousland
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some things come up that throw a monkey wrench into their usual Friday night plans.  But never fear; there's a solution.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Making Plans

_V:  Can we get together Friday night? If I’m walking you down the aisle, I figure we should at least catch up after years of not seeing each other._

_R:  Can we do it another night? I already have plans for Friday (EVERY Friday, actually. Weekly thing, y’know?)._

_V:  If it’s an every-week thing, surely you can miss ONE week, right? I’m leaving town Saturday morning for a business thing and I’ll be gone for almost a week._

_V:  The wedding will be here before you know it and I’d really prefer to catch up with you before then._

_R:  The wedding’s not for MONTHS, Vaughan. It’s not the end of the world if you don’t see me this Friday._

_V:  Come on, Regan. I’m not asking for much. Just ONE Friday. That’s all._

_V:  I’ll even take you out to dinner someplace NICE to make it worth your while. I know you don’t get out much._

 

_R:  *sigh* If it’ll shut you up … let me ask. I make no promises._

_R:  I’ll get back to you when I know something._

 

Regan sighed, shaking her head. Why had she told Dairren to give Vaughan her number again? She supposed his reason made sense. It would make it slightly less awkward, at least, to play catch up _before_ she had to be all formal and reserved and dressy. Maybe she’d get lucky and Alistair would figure out a good reason to _not_ cancel their Friday plans. She quickly dialed her neighbor’s number, kind of hoping she’d get his voice mail. She did.

“Hey trouble, it’s me. I have a _huge_ favor to ask, and I _really_ hope you don’t hate me for it. The groomsman I’m supposed to be paired with wants to get together this Friday to play catch up so the wedding isn’t _totally_ awkward. Is there any way we can postpone movie night to Saturday? Just this once? I promise I’ll make it up to you; I’ll … find some really stinky gourmet cheese or something. Let me know as soon as you can so I can get Mr. Bossy-butt off my back.”

She hung up the phone and slumped down in her chair. She had another hour of work and she _really_ didn’t want to deal with it. Luckily, there were no meetings to attend; just mindless data entry for the rest of the day. She switched on her MP3 player and went to work, fingers flying over the keys until her phone made a strange noise; it sounded suspiciously like the space ship warping into another solar system from that game Alistair had introduced her to. Sure enough, she looked down at the caller ID and it was him.

“Hey you. You messed with my phone again, didn’t you?” She laughed at his sheepish affirmative, wondering just when he’d managed to sneak it away to update his ringtone. “I like it. It’s fitting, since you got me hooked on the damned thing. You on lunch?”

“Nope. Actually off early; Duncan decided we were overstaffed today.”

“And what did you have to promise him to be the lucky one to leave early; your first born?”

“Nothing ….”

She pulled back, eyed her phone for a moment. He was being unusually vague. “Alistair,” she prodded, bringing the phone back to her ear. “If you tell me that you promised Duncan you’d wear a dress and dance the remigold again … we’re going to have words. You _know_ I want to be there for something that.”

“No, no; nothing like that,” he hurried to assure her. “It’s just … that, well … I kind of … told him ... I ... wouldworkFridaynightbecausewe’reshorthandedI’msorrypleasedon’thateme.” He ran his words together so badly that it came out quite garbled on the phone.

“Slow down, Alistair.” Regan rubbed her eyes as she tried to make sense of the jumble of words. “Can you say that again, slower, please?” She heard him take a breath, exhaling in a nervous sort of laughter.

“Duncan asked if I could come in and work a long shift Friday … almost a double, because … well, a couple people made last minute requests to have that night off.” He paused, giving her time to interrupt if she chose. He’d understand if she was upset about having to cancel their weekly … date, was that the right word? “I told him I would. But that means we can’t have our Friday movie night. I’m sorry. Please don’t hate me?” He stared at his phone as he heard her laugh. “Well, that wasn’t the response I was expecting.”

Getting control, she grinned into the phone. “You haven’t checked your voice mail yet, have you?” When he confirmed that he hadn’t, she explained her outburst of giggles. “I called to ask _you_ if we could postpone our Friday tradition … maybe do it Saturday instead.”

“Got a hot date, I take it?”

“Not exactly,” she groaned, rolling her eyes. “The guy I’m paired with in Dairren and Iona’s wedding wants to get together and play catch up. You met him at karaoke … the guy that sang with me?”

Alistair’s voice took on a barely noticeable disapproving tone as he confirmed that yes, he _did_ remember the man. He wasn’t quite sure _why_ he disapproved so much, but … something about the way the man had behaved rubbed him the wrong way. “You sounded _much_ better than he did, by the way.”

“Liar, but thanks for saying so.” She couldn’t stop the smile … or the faint blush that she felt warm her cheeks. “But anyway, he _says_ he wants to do this before the actual wedding; I guess so it’s not so awkward? I mean, it _has_ been years since we’ve seen each other. His family stopped summering in Highever while I was in high school. At least he’s better looking than he was back then.”

Alistair had no smart comeback for that as he tried to ignore the small twinge in his chest. “So, yeah …. Anyway, Duncan _did_ switch my day off to Saturday, so we can just reschedule if you want.” He knew his voice had lost some of the enthusiasm it held moments ago and he wished he knew why. It wasn’t like she was totally bailing on him, and it certainly wasn’t like she was blowing him off. They would have had to reschedule or just cancel even if she _hadn’t_ had something else going on.

“Great. This’ll give me something to look forward to; get me through this dinner with Vaughan.” She fiddled with her mouse, saved the file she’d been working on and sent an IM to Fergus telling him she was leaving a little early for the day. It wasn’t like she wouldn’t make up the time later … probably later that night. She just couldn’t focus on the stupid computer just then. “So what’re your plans for the day, since you have rare free daylight hours?”

“Apparently, I’m meeting my brother and his wife.” Alistair sighed, not particularly looking forward to _that_ meeting. He rarely saw Cailan and Anora … or the rest of his family, to be honest, and that was fine with him. They’d treated him well enough, but it was more like something they were saddled with rather than related to.

“I didn’t know you had a brother?”

“Half-brother, really,” Alistair clarified. “I don’t … talk about them much.” He could practically _feel_ her curiosity through the phone, and cut her off before she could ask. “I promise, I’ll tell you about it later. I just … really don’t want to think about it when I’m actually heading off to see them. Maybe … maybe we could get together later tonight; do dinner or something?”

“Sounds good. I’m going to go see if I can’t find a suitable wedding gift for the happy couple without gagging.” She shoved away from her desk and plodded back to her room to change. She loved the fact she could go to work in the rattiest clothes she owned most days; a fact she exploited as often as possible. “See you tonight. Six-ish?”

“Six should work. This’ll give me an excuse to make an escape early, if I need to. See you then.”

“Looking forward to it.”

~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~

“So, how was the date?”

Regan groaned, flopping down onto Alistair’s couch with a plate full of food. “Maker’s ass, _please_ don’t call it a date.” She made use of the new coffee table he’d somehow acquired, setting her plate down carefully. He’d taken care of getting her a drink – a cold beer; just what the healer ordered, he’d said. “I’m pretty sure _he_ thought it was one at first, but he is _so_ not my type.”

“And what _is_ your type?”

“Certainly not rich and snobby,” she muttered. “You know that restaurant in the financial district?”

“That high-priced place in the old prison; Fort Drakon, wasn’t it?”

“That’s the one. He took me there, made this _huge_ show of ordering the most expensive crap on the menu and wouldn’t even let _me_ choose my own meal.” She grumbled, popping a couple fries into her mouth before continuing. “And what he ordered was kind of like his company. It was under-cooked, over-seasoned, and just plain foul, not to mention over-priced. _Then_ he proceeded to make comments about how unladylike I was while eating.” To emphasize the point, she took a rather unladylike bite of her burger, enjoying the tang of barbeque sauce as it hit her tongue.

“So, no fun at all? Was he at least _nice_?” Alistair tried not to smile too noticeably as he listened to her recounting of the disaster. He reached over with his napkin and dabbed at her cheek. “Don’t ask me how, but you got sauce just … there.”

“He was nice for about a little while,” she allowed, smirking as he reached to clean her face. Pity he wasn’t eating something equally as messy, but he apparently preferred his burgers loaded with cheese, rather than a tasty sauce. “We really _did_ play catch-up first. But, when he found out I’d moved out of Highever, and technically worked _with_ my brother, rather than for him, it’s almost like it became a huge sales pitch.”

“You never did explain what you _do_ at work,” Alistair mused. He felt slightly guilty about delaying her enjoyment of her hamburger, but she didn’t seem to mind. And he knew good and well she’d throw just as many questions at him when it was her turn … probably during desert, too.

“I do a lot of data entry, occasional meetings … nothing too huge.” She shrugged, waving a fry at him. “I’m just glad I can do most of it from my apartment. I don’t have to deal with a lot of traffic this way and can sleep until _right_ before I have to start my shift.”

“Like you ever sleep in, anyway,” Alistair laughed. “You’re up before the sun to go running with Jasper.”

“If you’re up to know that, you should join us. Jas and I would be glad for the company.”

Alistair matched her grin, rubbing the back of his head as he gave the idea serious thought. “I could be … convinced,” he teased, waggling his eyebrows.

She smirked and tossed a fry at him. “I would have thought our company would be enough to convince you.” She looked over her shoulder at the near passed out mabari and then back at Alistair. “You know Jasper adores you. You’re the only one he _doesn’t_ bark at.” She had learned to trust her mabari’s instincts when it came to people. If she could have had him with her when meeting Vaughan, she would have. It’d be interesting to see what his reaction would be. “So, tell me about this mysterious brother of yours.”

“Half-brother, really.” Alistair sighed softly. At least he’d had the chance to finish his food. And now she could eat hers. “We … share the same father – Maric Theirin.” He saw the look of comprehension on her face as the last name sunk in. “Yes, _that_ Maric Theirin.” He waited for the slew of questions … the same questions he got every time someone learned of his parentage. But the questions didn’t come. He was … surprised.

“Anyway, Cailan and Anora wanted to take me out for my birthday, a week early.” He glanced over at her and flushed when he noticed her watching him, listening closely. Her burger lay relatively untouched since he’d started, making him feel unnecessarily guilty. “Eat, you. Or I stop talking.”

“Don’t you dare,” she laughed, plucking up the burger again. “I’m … entranced. I didn’t know your birthday was coming up.” She took a bite and indicated Alistair should go on.

He grinned, ears still warm from her attention … that smile with a trickle of barbeque sauce running down her chin making his stomach do little flip flops. “Next Friday; I haven’t done much for my birthday over the years. It’s kind of … hard to enjoy a day when it serves to remind half your family that your father cheated on his wife with your mother.” He shrugged, finished off his beer and went on. “Cailan and Anora took me to that steakhouse downtown, then to some club where I felt like a mabari in Orlais. The music, if you could call it that, was too loud, the lights too bright and flashy. I guess the thought was nice, but it wasn’t my ideal way to pass the evening.”

“So, what _would_ be your ideal way to spend your birthday?” She left the last couple bites of burger uneaten as she shifted to face him. Her tongue snaked out to lick at the corner of her lips, sure she had a bit of sauce that had escaped. “I thought every red-blooded Denerim guy loved a good steak and night at the club.”

He laughed, shaking his head. “I must be an exception, then.” He paused, mulling her question over in his head. He’d never really given it much thought, before; no one had ever seemed interested in what _he’d_ want to do. “I don’t know; I’ve honestly never given it much thought. I … guess I’d like … dinner with friends at … that place in the historic district that has all those _amazing_ cheeses.” He chuckled softly at her grin, cheeks growing warm again. “Then, I dunno … not a club, though. Maybe nothing … maybe a movie or play or bowling or something. No one’s ever really asked what _I_ want to do before.” Trying not to look like he’d been watching her tongue, he reached over with the napkin again, dabbing the escaped barbeque sauce away. “You missed a spot.”

“Thanks.” She felt the back of her neck grow warm as she watched him lean in, bring his hand so close to her face. “Tell you what … you pick next week’s movies … whatever you want. We can even go out to a movie, if you’d rather.” She knew there were a couple movies in the theater he’d been talking about, but she wasn’t entirely sure he’d want to go with her, despite the fact that they enjoyed watching movies at home every week.

“You don’t have to do that,” he protested weakly, watching as she shifted positions again. He felt a little sad when she scooted away, only to have his smile brighten as sock-covered feet suddenly appeared on his lap. “I know being seen in public with me is akin to torture for anyone.” He watched her face as he reached out and gently started running his finger along the bottom of her foot.

She let out a surprised yelp, pulling her feet back quickly. “Do that again, and you’ll regret it,” she teased, motioning for him to swing his legs up as well. “Give me those feet; I need leverage to make sure you’ll behave yourself.” She waited expectantly, watching as his gaze darted from her to his feet to her feet and back again. Slowly, as if he didn’t trust her, he brought his feet up, rested them gently in her lap. “And I know I don’t _have_ to. I _want_ to. You’ve been saying for months how much you want to see that new super hero movie, right?” She returned her feet to his lap as her hands wrapped around his.

He groaned as her thumbs pressed into the sole of one foot, eyes near rolling back into his head. Maker that felt good, especially after the long-ass day yesterday, and this morning. “Fine, you’ve talked …. Oh, Maker, that feels _so_ good ….” He forgot what he was supposed to be doing, what he was saying, what he was even _thinking_. Nothing mattered except how bloody good her hands felt on his aching feet. “If you promise to never stop doing _that_ , I’ll do anything you want.”

“So it’s settled, then. You, me, superhero movie … Friday night, for your birthday.”

"Can't wait."


End file.
